From the Ashes of Nipton
by Dismally-Syncophatic
Summary: It had started in Nipton. Neither was certain where or when it would end.


The ruined streets of Nipton, set aflame to wash away the whorish sins of its denizens, smelled distinctly of rubber and cooked flesh. It made the recruits uneasy, shifty and uncertain. But not Vulpes Inculta. His cold demeanor overpowered anything as primal as nervousness, he was dominant. He was Legion.

The skies ran dark like black ink spilled over blue parchment, trickling blearily above them. Muffled barks were overshadowed by three distant gunshots. Gunshots; the Frumentarii noted, that came from where their Lottery winner had ran off to. One of his men had informed him of a lone figure cutting a bloody swath towards Nipton. If he had been a lesser man, Vulpes might have been eager to meet someone who could score into the chem whores and sadistic filth that lined the roads towards the mecca that was New Vegas. Willing to prey on any traveler that had the misfortune of crossing them. All but the Legion of course.

He was not a lesser man, but he was intrigued. A sole figure strode cautiously towards Nipton hall. Though he noted it was not the slow, submissive walk of someone seeking to sneak about undetected. It was the dominant stride of someone unafraid to meet their death, unwilling to bend even to the sight of carnage about them. Vulpes did admit to himself there was something vaguely sick and inhuman about what they did, he was Fumentarii, it was merely in him to notice and mull through the ways of cultures and people. But not an iota of regret pierced his callous exterior; he had done good work this day. Caesar would be pleased.

As Vulpes stood, observing the approaching figure and no doubt being observed in return, he felt a twinge of disappointment as the figure; lithe and feminine as it was, paused at the moan of one of the crucified filth that still had the pleasure of breathing. It was a woman, the fires about her caught on the soft curves and round face that peered up from under a large, gray sheriffs hat. So she was female, that was only a minor flaw, she seemed weathered, face dust washed by the sand storms that raged across the wastes.

Would she cry? Be horrified by his act of cleansing? It would certainly fit the behavior of all the members of her sex he'd met thus far. One recruit moved forward, as if to force the silent woman forward, but one subtle jerk of his head and the youth stepped back to his post. Steely grey eyes stabbed at the prone woman; even through his shaded goggle he could clearly see her face, the high bonfires stocked by the popping fat of the dead illuminated her even on such a dark night.

She looked no more than nineteen, maybe twenty or twenty one. A pair of glasses obscured her eyes from his view as the lights reflected off them. It made it very hard to read her expression as her small, rose colored lips did not move to express any sort of disdain or disgust. Vulpes was a patient man, but she appeared to be ignoring him for the time being. It irked him slightly, but he would not make a fool of himself by lashing out, he was not so easily strung along.

Motion finally caught his attention as the woman pulled a rifle from her back, for a moment he toyed with the notion of her seeking revenge for the half dead reprobates, but she still had yet to even acknowledge his presence.

A slender hand came up, pushing the brim of her hat away from her eyes as she cocked the gun and pointed it upwards. Vulpes brows knitted for a moment, and his recruits twitched, a monument to their training that they did not react more than that.

With swift precision, the rifle was pointed directly at the man's head, at the angle the stranger was looking, Vulpes observed that her eyes were clearly locked with the dying mans. That is before she blasted his head clean from his shoulders. The body slumped and gave a few twitches, though the young woman did not seem to notice as she moved to the next crucified Powder Ganger.

One by one, with nothing but a single shot for each and the clacking of her boots, the stranger ended them until she reached the last one. Vulpes could feel her proximity, even from the distance she was at. The hair on his arms and neck stood on end, electric pulses of suppressed elation coursed up his spine and into his brain as he registered her act.

Once the last man was dead, Vulpes was finally granted her attention. Her soft, dirty face peered at him before she slowly approached. The dog at his left flinched for a moment, shoulders bunching as its black lips peeled over its yellowed fangs. But it made no other move of aggression towards the young traveler.

Vulpes observed her, and she did the same. They bore into each other with clear intent; neither would submit to the other, the only way this was going to go down was from a compromise on either side. It seemed she was not too keen to speak first, merely staring at him as his sturdy feet brought him within feet of her. She smelled like agave and gunpowder.

"Don't worry; I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by."

His voice was schooled, cold and light, with a lilt uniquely his. It did not go beyond his notice that her shoulders twitched when he spoke. He would have smirked if he had not had something more to say to her.

"I want you to witness the fate of the Town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across. "

Beside him a few recruits shifted, heads cocking a bit higher and barely suppressed sneers aimed at the tiny female who they were taught was inferior. Vulpes was not so sure about that, not with this one. Her slender digits came up to pull the brim of her hat back down, obscuring her eyes from him as she tilted her head down for a moment to consider his words.

"What "Lessons" did you teach here?"

Her voice rippled through him, high and strong, hoarse from thirst but clear in its cadence. Her rifle was placed slowly back at its place behind her, her movements obviously calculated as not to imply of aggression. He allowed himself a smile, though it was more of a sneer as he decided to humor her inquiry.

"Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as a perfect object lesson."

Vulpes could tell that under the brim of her hat, her eyebrows had knitted forward at his words. His arrogance and cold confidence in his work obvious even from the taciturn way in which he spoke. It made her skin crawl, although not in the cold, gut wrenching way this sort of thing normally did. It was warm and fleeting, pooling in her center before expanding out till she could no longer place the sensation. Her small mouth was pulled into a slight frown.

"What exactly happened here?"

"Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, as long as they paid."

The woman's chin twitched upwards a fraction, frown still in place as she did not quite comprehend his words yet. So he continued onwards.

"—Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself- the people here didn't care. It was a town of whores."

One of the younger recruits grunted in agreement, it drew the woman's attention away from him for a moment, causing Vulpes to frown as his eyes narrowed behind the dark goggles.

"For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap-"

The Frumentarri was pleased when her head snapped back to him at the sound of his voice. It did seem to affect her though she did a marvelous job of not letting it show. He hoped he made her uncomfortable, the very thought of causing her discomfort sent a very masculine bolt of pleasure into his brain.

"Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught inside it, too."

"….So…You capture everyone?"

She was not one for many words, she would speak with others but this situation was rather precarious, and from what she had been told in Goodsprings and Primm. There wasn't a doubt in her mind she was dealing with The Legion. It was better to tread carefully with this sort of people. The sort who easily cut down and burned an entire city for being a bunch of traitorous douches. She probably would have done the same, but not unprovoked.

"Yes, and herded them to the center of town. I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal they are punished, others made to watch. And I announced the lottery."

At that, the small woman reached down, pulling a ticket (The winning one he noticed) from her front pocket. She examined it before looking back up to him, contemplating him as they locked eyes from behind their respective eyewear. Her eyes were pale green, boring into him with dilated pupils as he nodded at her ticket, not at all surprised that she had it, though he was curious as to what she did with the Lottery Winner.

"Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when "Loved Ones"-"

He paused, not concealing his repulsion at the term, one elegant brow rose at him and he resisted the urge to clear his throat as he gestured to the street behind her.

"Were dragged away to be killed."

Ignoring his momentary display of emotion, she followed his hand as it gestured behind her. She did not hesitate to look away from him; she observed the burning streets and pike mounted heads. The large crosses that sported headless bodies and the piles of tires where she could smell more than just burnt rubber. Even if only barely. Despite her initial displeasure with him, if she could trust him, if this was The Legion, she would only be lying if she didn't agree with the 'hellfire' method.

"I…Admire the purity of the Legion's justice."

It was reluctantly spoken but it turned the heads of the recruits and veterans who certainly thought she would disagree once their creed was brought into the conversation. It certainly made Vulpes break out in goose bumps at the concept of her, using that rifle to spray holes into the Legions enemies.

"It has a stark beauty doesn't it? I am glad you can appreciate it."

He sincerely was, but as much as he would have enjoyed bantering with the small youth, he had places to be and his mission had been fulfilled. He turned his head, gesturing silently for his men to prepare to leave before turning back to her silent, thoughtful expression.

He turned suddenly, her shoulders tensing for a moment while he turned to leave; he offered a small, detached smile as he tilted his head at her. Her frown deepened as her eyes narrowed at him from behind the thin lenses of her reading glasses. She was rather lovely; her eyes seemed to spark when she was irate.

"Go and teach them what you learned here."

As his men formed in single file several yards away he leaned in, eyes casting downwards to observe her full lips as his voice lowered, wishing idly that she would have leaned in close as he had done, figuring perhaps he was about to whisper.

"There will be more lessons in the days ahead."

With that promise he turned fully, walking briskly, albeit calmly ahead of his men before leading them off. The Courier stared after them until they had turned behind a house and moved out of her line of view. Her shoulders slouched, her back losing its rigidity as she let out a heavy sigh.

He certainly was a strange one, but she couldn't deny the frosty intensity that he offered. He was a man not to be taken lightly, he was power and dominance. The words he spoke replayed in her mind like a broken holotape, promising her over and over again that she'd witness the cruel justice of the Legion again.

She found that she was hoping; though she wasn't sure why, that Vulpes Inculta would be present to give her the next lesson.


End file.
